Cigarette holder



March 20, 1956 H. 0. SMITH 2,738,792

CIGARETTE HOLDER Filed Aug. 11, 1952 Henry 0. Smith IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent CIGARETTE HOLDER Henry 0. Smith, Dillingham, Territory of Alaska Application August 11, 1952, Serial No. 303,702 1 Claim. (Cl. 131-185) This invention relates in general to cigarette holders which are provided with means for enclosing a cigarette being smoked so that it neither emits light nor is its lighted end exposed to cause a fire.

It is a daily occurrence that furniture and other articles about a house and oftentimes even a house is set on fire by a careless cigarette smoker who lays his cigerette on an article of furniture or the like. Also, many persons are either seriously burned or are burned to death by fires occurring while they are lying in bed smoking and falling asleep with result that the cigarette engages the covers or the like and sets fire to the same. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a convenient safety cigarette holder which would permit persons to conveniently smoke cigarettes without causing a fire.

It is also well known that in battle areas the members of an arm force are not permitted to smoke in the open inasmuch as usually the light from a match or the glow of the cigarette would give away their position and result in many casualties. Therefore, it is also desirable to provide an improved safety cigarette holder which would permit a cigarette to be entirely enclosed while being smoked and which would ignite the same without being detected whereby a member of the armed forces would be permitted to smoke in the open without endangering himself and his comrades.

The primary'object of this invention is to provide an improved cigarette holder which includes a mouthpiece having a removable cigarette enclosing barrel thereon, said cigarette enclosing barrel being so constructed and designed whereby the cigarette may be smoked in a normal manner while being completely enclosed within the barrel.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved cigarette holder which includes a barrel completely enclosing a cigarette being smoked, said barrel being provided with ignition means for lighting the cigarette while the same is disposed therein in order that no exposed flame will be required.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved igniter for use with cigarette holders, said igniter including a coil of resistance wire adapted to be selectively positioned adjacent an end of an enclosed cigarette for lighting the same, said igniter being heated by power derived from a portable battery assembly.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved portable battery assembly which includes a battery having a centrally located terminal at one end and a clip engaging a second terminal at the other end thereof, said clip providing a terminal extension adjacent said first terminal whereby the battery assembly is provided with two closely spaced terminals which may be quickly and easily contacted with the igniter of a cigarette holder.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved cigarette holder in which a cigarette may be inserted for smoking, said cigarette holder protecting the cigarette from the elements whereby the same may be conveniently smoked in all types of weather including downpours.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application and in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the cigarette holder which is the subject of this invention and shows the general outline thereof;

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 2-2 of Figure 1 and shows the general construction of the cigarette holder;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 33 of Figure 2 and shows the construction of an igniter positioned in the end of the holder and its relative position with respect to an end of a cigarette disposed within the holder;

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of Figure 2 and shows the general construction of a barrel portion of the cigarette holder including the arrangement of air vents for permitting the entrance of air into the interior of the cigarette holder;

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 55 of Figure 2 and shows the general relationship of the inner end of the igniter with respect to the interior of the barrel of the cigarette holder;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the igniter end of the cigarette holder in Figure 1 in combination with a battery assembly for furnishing current to the igniter positioned in the igniter end, the extreme end portion of the cigarette holder broken away and shown in section in order to clearly illustrate the relationship of the igniter to the battery assembly and a cigarette disposed within a cigarette holder during the lighting of the same; and,

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the battery assembly and shows the general construction thereof.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the different views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the cigarette holder, which is the subject of this invention, is referred to in general by the reference niuneral 10. The cigarette holder 16 includes a mouthpiece, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 12, a detachable barrel portion, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 34, and an igniter, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 16, the igniter being carried by the extreme outer end of the barrel portion 14.

Referring now to Figure 2 in particular, it will be seen that the mouthpiece 12 is of a conventional construction and includes a smoke passage 18 therethrough. The mouthpiece 12 may be formed of any suitable material and differs from the conventional mouthpiece only in that the cigarette-receiving end thereof is provided with external threads 20.

The barrel portion 14 is in the form of two concentric sleeves, an outer sleeve 22 and an inner sleeve 24. The sleeves 22 and 24 are in spaced relation with an annular passage 26 therebetween. The forward ends of the sleeves 22 and 24 are partially closed by end walls 28 and 30, respectively, whereas the rear ends are open. The rear end of the inner sleeve 24 is internally threaded 3 and removably engaged with the external threads of the mouthpiece 12 to secure the barrel portion thereto. The rear end of the outer sleeve 22 is outwardly flared as at 32 and the space between the rear ends of the inner and outer sleeves 24 and 22, respectively, forms an annular air intake 34.

The sleeves 22 and 24 are retained in concentric relation by a plurality of radially extending ribs 36 which are arranged in two groups, one group being adjacent the rear ends of the sleeves 22 and 24 and the other group being adjacent the forward ends of the sleeves. The ribs 355 of each group are also circumferentially spaced, as is best illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.

In order that air entering the air intake opening 34 may enter into the interior of the inner sleeve 24-, in which a cigarette 38 is positioned, the cigarette being held by the mouthpiece 12, the inner sleeve 26 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending elongated slots 40. The slots 40 extend between the ribs 36 and are also circumferentialy spaced. The space 26 also communicates with the interior of the inner sleeve 24 by a plurality of circumferentially spaced passages 42 through the end wall 39.

Referring now to Figure 3 in particular, it will be seen that the igniter 16 includes an insulated member which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 44. The insulated member 44 includes an enlarged head disk portion 45 which is joined to a smaller rear disk portion 48 by a relatively small circular cross-sectional intermediate stem portion 50.

Imbedded in the outer end of the head portion 46 is a pair of spaced contacts 52 and 54, the outer ends of the contacts being positioned within an annular recess 56 in the outer end of the head portion 46 and exposed to contact with terminals of an electrical supply source. Extending through the intermediate stem portion 5% and connecting a coil of resistance wire to the contacts 52 and 54 are conductors 58 and respectively. The coil of resistance wire, which is referred to by the reference numeral 62 is positioned at the inner or rear end of the ear disk portion 4-8 and is adapted to engage an outer end of the cigarette 38 for lighting the same. For assembly purposes, the head disk portion 4-6 may be recessed, as at 46, for a press fit over the forward end of the stern portion 50. The conductors 58, 60 may comprise prongs Efi, 60 on said head disk portion 46 and the stem portion 5% may comprise sockets 62, 64 for plugging in said prongs 53', 6%) to complete said conductors 53, 69 all in a manner similar to that shown in the patent to Bakst et al. Re. 23,435 of December 4, 1951.

It will be noted that the head disk portion 46 of the insulated member 44 is slidably positioned within and closes a circular opening 64 through the end wall 28 of the outer sleeve 22 and that the intermediate stern portion 50 passes through a circular opening 66 in the end wall 30 of the inner sleeve 24. The igniter 16 is so mounted whereby the same may be moved longitudinally of the barrel with the resistance wire 62 moving into engagement with the end of the cigarette 38 when the head portion 46 is moved to the left, as is illustrated in Figure 3. In order that the igniter 16 may be returned to its normal position automatically, the intermediate stem portion 5% has mounted thereon a spring 63 which engages the outer surface of the end wall 39 and the head disk portion 46 to urge the igniter 16 to the right, as illustrated in Figure 3, into normal position established by engagement of the smaller disk portion 4-8 with the end wall 30.

Referring now to Figure 7 in particular, it will be seen that there is illustrated a battery assembly which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 70. The

battery assembly 78 includes a small battery 72 which has a centrally located terminal 74 at one end thereof.

Cir

The other end of the battery 72 forms a second terminal and is engaged by a flange 76 on one end .ofa clip member which is referred to in general by the reference numeral- 78. The clip member 78 includes a flange ill) on the other end thereof with the flanges 76 and 80 compressibly engaging the ends of the battery 72 to retain the same in engagement with the clip 78. The flanges 76 and 80 are connected by an elongated strap portion 82. The strap portion 82 is ofiset adjacent the flange 3b to provide a projecting terminal extension 84- in spaced parallel relation to the centrally located terminal '74.

Referring now to Figure 6 in particular, it will be seen that the spacing between the terminal 74 and the terminal extension 1 is equal to the spacing between the contacts 52 and 54 and that the same may be engaged with the contacts. When it is desired to smoke a cigarette, the barrel portion 14 is removed from the mouthpiece 12 and a cigarette inserted in one end of the smoke passage 1% through the mouthpiece 12. The barrel portion 14 is then replaced and the cigarette 33 is then ready to be smoked. The cigarette 33 is lit by pushing the battery assembly 70 against the igniter' 16 with the contacts and terminals in engagement with each other. The movement of the battery assembly 72 to the left, as viewed in Figure 6, results in a similar movement of the igniter 16 to the left with the result that the resistance wire 62 engages the end of the cigarette 38 and at the same time is heated due to the flow of current from the battery 72 of the battery assembly '76. After the cigarette 38 has been lit, the battery assembly 70 is then returned to a persons pocket or other place where it is normally kept.

In view of the foregoing, it is readily apparent that a cigarette, such as cigarette 38, may be conveniently smoked without displaying any light either at the time of lighting the cigarette or during the smoking operation. Furthermore, since the cigarette 3 3 is totally enclosed within the barrel portion 14 there is no danger of fire.

Although the cigarette holder 10 has been illustrated and described as being adapted to have cigarettes disposed therein lit by utilizing the igniter 16, it will be understood that if it is so desired the cigarette 38 may be lit by a match or other similar conventional means for lighting cigarettes prior to the replacement of the barrel portion 14. After the cigarette has been lit, the barrel portion 14 is replaced and the cigarette smoked in the normal manner.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is: Y

A cigarette holder comprising a mouthpiece adapted to receive a cigarette in one end thereof, a protective barrel carried by said end of the mouthpiece for enclosing the cigarette and including outer and inner spaced sleeves having spaced apart forward end walls each wall provided in the axis of the sleeve with an opening, and an igniter of insulation material in said barrel slidable rearwardly and forwardly therein to engage and disengage the cigarette and comprising a stem portion slidable in the opening in the end wall of said inner sleeve, an enlarged head disk portion on one end of said stem portion slidable in and closing the opening in the end wall of the outer sleeve, a coil spring on said stem portion bearing against said end Wall of the inner sleeve and against said head disk portion and acting to slide the igniter forwardly, a second disk portion on the other end of said stem portion within the inner sleeve and engaging the end wall of said inner sleeve to limit forward sliding movement of the igniter, a pair of spaced exposed contacts in said head disk portion, a resistance wire in said second disk portion exposed in said inner sleeve, and conductors embedded in said stem and disk portions and connecting said contacts to opposite ends of the resistance wire.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bakst et a1 Dec. 4, 1951 Schiavulli Jan. 22, 1935 Grabbe Oct. 17, 1939 Stanard May 6, 1941 DiRubbio Mar. 7, 1950 6 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia Oct. 25, 1934 Australia Mar. 6, 1942 France Nov. 9, 1906 France Oct. 31, 1923 

